Technically, it should have been a 76 because he shot 38% from 16-23 feet last year. The range I used for mid-range, which was very close to the range that 2k used for that distance, takes the percentage a player shoots from that range, multiplies it by 2, and you get their rating.
It looks like this:
Dirk shot 50% from that range - 99 rating
Kobe Shot 38% from that range - 76 rating
Player x shoots 48% from that range - 96 rating
Player y shoots 34% from that range - 68 rating
Gasol should be a 98 since he shot 49% from that range but when I was scaling big men, I took took their percentage times 2 then subtracted 10 from it. Therefore, he ended up with an 88.
Keep in mind, Offensive Awareness, Shoot In Traffic and Consistency also affect how good a player is during gameplay and Kobe has very high ratings in those categories. Have you played with/against Kobe or simulated any games/seasons with him? He plays like Kobe both in gameplay and in simulations.
Also, keep in mind that Kobe is one of the most overrated shooters from 16-23 feet as I've ever seen. He forces too many shots, in too many difficult situations, over too many defenders to score at an efficient rate. His highest percentage from that range over the past 5 years is 42%. The league average is 40%.